This month, President Trump officially enacted the decision to move America’s Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, thereby recognizing Israel’s eternal capital as Jerusalem. Of course, this decision resulted in fairly predictable consequences. Riots erupted around Gaza since the announcement, culminating in 64 dead Palestinians and over 2,400 injured.

However, there is one stark difference between what I wrote in three sentences and what the western media reported. The western media categorized these riots as “protests.” But as the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reported, these protestors hurled Molotov cocktails at Israelis. Additionally, Hamas organized and told them what to do. IDF Spokesperson Brigadier General Ronen Manelis called the level of violence “unprecedented.” He also said that “Hamas failed” in their efforts. But he is, unfortunately, incorrect.

Hamas’s goal was not to breach the fence and flood into Israel. It wasn’t to kill as many Israelis as possible, unusually so. Rather, it was to gain sympathy from the west. That’s how Hamas plans to defeat Israel, and the media is playing right into their palms. By deceivingly reporting the riots as protests, the media portrays Israel in a bad light. This could transform American support for Israel into a bitterly divided issue, just like abortion or gun control.

This is further accelerated by the fact that President Trump was the one who decided to move the embassy. His eternal critics and his cultists will react in a way that doesn’t reflect their actual views, simply out of their disdain or support for Trump. Once Israel is successfully politicized by the media’s incompetence, Hamas just has to wait until an anti-Israel advocates take the White House and Congress. From there, it’s likely that said president will withdraw American support for Israel. While Hamas would still be sorely outmatched, it is one small step towards their goal of defeating Israel.